If 20dm3 methane was burned in pure oxygen: CH4(g) + 2O2(g) arrow CO2(g) + 2H2O(l)
how do I work out the volume of carbon dioxide made?
And what volume of oxygen would be required?
Thank you.
I think I have worked out the answers -
the volume of carbon dioxide would be 20dm3 and the volume of oxygen required would be 40dm3.
Please let me know if I am incorrect.
Thank you.
You are right.
When working with gases, one may use the volumes as if they were mols. That isn't exactly right but the math works out that way. So use volumes and convert with the coefficients in the balanced equation to convert volume CH4 to mols O2 for the first one and then convert mols CH4 to mols CO2 for the second.
For O2.
20 dm3 CH4 x (2 mols O2/1 mol CH4) = 20 x 2/1 = 40 dm3 for O2 needed.
Thank you!
To calculate the volume of carbon dioxide (CO2) produced and the volume of oxygen (O2) required, you first need to consider the stoichiometric coefficients in the balanced chemical equation. The coefficient in front of each chemical species indicates the ratio in which they react.
In the given balanced equation:
CH4(g) + 2O2(g) → CO2(g) + 2H2O(l)
1 mole of methane (CH4) reacts with 2 moles of oxygen (O2) to produce 1 mole of carbon dioxide (CO2) and 2 moles of water (H2O).
Step 1: Convert the given volume of methane to moles:
Given: 20 dm3 CH4
The molar volume of any gas at standard temperature and pressure (STP) is approximately 22.4 dm3.
So, the number of moles of methane = volume (in dm3) / molar volume (in dm3/mol)
= 20 dm3 / 22.4 dm3/mol
≈ 0.893 moles of CH4
Step 2: Use the coefficients from the balanced equation to determine the moles of CO2 produced:
1 mole of CH4 reacts to produce 1 mole of CO2.
Therefore, the number of moles of CO2 produced = 0.893 moles of CH4
Step 3: Convert the moles of CO2 to volume:
Using the molar volume of any gas at STP, we can calculate the volume of CO2.
Volume (in dm3) = moles × molar volume (in dm3/mol)
= 0.893 moles × 22.4 dm3/mol
≈ 20 dm3 of CO2
Thus, the volume of carbon dioxide produced would be approximately 20 dm3.
Step 4: Calculate the volume of oxygen required:
From the balanced equation, we know that 2 moles of oxygen react with 1 mole of methane to produce 1 mole of CO2.
Therefore, the moles of O2 required = 2 × moles of CH4
= 2 × 0.893 moles
≈ 1.786 moles of O2
Using the molar volume of any gas at STP:
Volume (in dm3) = moles × molar volume (in dm3/mol)
= 1.786 moles × 22.4 dm3/mol
≈ 40 dm3 of O2
Hence, the volume of oxygen required would be approximately 40 dm3.